"What topic are you constantly changing?!" Queen Mother Gu thought over and over again but still felt that she couldn't take the risk. If Qiu Mengmin was really found guilty of murdering her nephew, her defense of him would become a laughing stock. What if the Jiang family took advantage of this excuse? Queen Mother Gu would be wary of making trouble - for example, she thought it was suspicious that almost all of General Ruan's juniors died in battle. After investigating the cause of Qiu Jinglan's death, why should she investigate the Ruan family again
Originally, the Jiang family's influence in the military was deeply entangled and far-reaching. How about asking them to take this opportunity to reach into the court in an open and honest manner and use old cases to drag down all their political opponents? !
So after Empress Dowager Gu thought about it, she sneered and said, "Not to mention that Qiu Jinglan died before Princess Xihe, and Princess Xihe was just a direct grandson. If there was anything suspicious about his death, would the Princess just pass it off?! Just Princess Ruan only passed away last year. If the death of her only son was related to Qiu Mengmin, would she be so stupid as to take her only daughter and live under the same roof with her murderer for so many years? "
"The Queen Mother..." Qiu Yilan, who was under Danqi, was cut off by Queen Mother Gu in the middle of her words: "How presumptuous! The Ai family hasn't finished speaking, who allows you to interrupt!"
Queen Jiang immediately retorted: "Maybe Princess Ningyi has evidence?!"
"How long do you want to keep us entangled?!" Queen Mother Gu was furious, slapped the armrest of the jade chair, and shouted, "What is the matter discussed today? What will you do in the future? It's up to you to say it. Where are you? Are you here to chat with me and your family?"
Queen Jiang snorted and said, "My wife doesn't dare." But her face was very unhappy.
The ministers below were all looking at each other, and in an instant they became two rows of wooden piles. Obviously no one wanted to get involved in the direct confrontation between the two empresses - only the front of the civil servants, a purple man with a clear face and gray hair on his temples. The senior official, fearless, stood up and smoothed things over: "You two ladies, please don't hurt your harmony over trivial matters. In my opinion, since we have agreed today to discuss whether King Xihe disrespects our aunt, we will still discuss it now." It’s good to have this matter settled.”
After a pause, he continued, "As for the death of the former Xihe Crown Prince, I think it's not too late to mention it until today's matter is settled."
After the old minister came out and spoke, both Queen Mother Gu and Queen Jiang's tense expressions softened, obviously giving him face.
Seeing this, Qiu Yilan couldn't help but guess his identity.
Sure enough, Queen Mother Gu calmed herself down, nodded and said, "Just follow what Prime Minister Xue said."
- There is no doubt that this purple-robed official is the elder of the two dynasties in Darui. Xue Chang, the great court official who was worshiped as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, joined the Pingzhangshi of Tongzhongshu, and was also granted the title of Marquis of Huaihe!
Xue Chang calmed down the quarrel between the two queens with one word, but there was no look of pride on his face. He cupped his hands and returned to the class, as if nothing had happened.
"The Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager!" After Xue Chang stood up in the class and closed his eyes to rest, someone came out and said, "I thought that since the Lian family and the Ruan family had collected the handwriting of Princess Xihe, The letter has been confirmed to be correct, so there is no excuse for Qiu Mengmin, the current King of Xihe, to disobey his legitimate mother!"
"That's right!" The Queen's Party regained its strength and said one after another, "Whether Qiu Mengmin was deceived by his servants or whether he deliberately took the blame on his servants, in short, the Lu family had already been expelled from the palace for Princess Xihe and had no relationship with the Qiu family again. It has nothing to do with it! In this case, how can Qiu Mengmin continue to support her in the palace against her aunt's orders?"
Qiu Yilan covered her mouth with a sneer, turned to look at Qiu Mengmin, whose face instantly turned pale, and felt happy in her heart: "Do you think you can get away with Guan Mama and Dong Yao being accused of fabricating the concubine's death?! Right now, If you support your biological mother, you are disobeying your biological mother; if you don't support your biological mother - haha! Your biological son is a hereditary king, but your biological mother is living abroad! Is such a son still a human being?"
Now Qiu Mengmin's only way out is to resign!
Not only did he resign, but he also had to hand over all the property in the public accounts of the Xihe Palace!
Give up everything to King Xihe—because Princess Xihe, as the mistress, denies Mrs. Lu’s qualification to enjoy the Qiu family’s support. Therefore, even if Mrs. Lu does not live in the palace and lives in any of King Xihe's properties, she is disobeying Princess Xihe!
Not only did he disobey Princess Xihe, but Mrs. Lu also had a son, Qiu Mengmin! As an only son, he was raised by his biological mother, lived in a prominent palace, and left his widowed mother to live separately. How could the courtiers not impeach him? Can public opinion not condemn it
Therefore, Qiu Mengmin had no choice but to resign. As an heir, he must abide by his aunt's decision during her lifetime. As a son of a human being, he could not ignore his elderly biological mother - so the only option was to give the princeship to others and use his own abilities. To support the birth mother.
"The descendants of the Qiu family have always been thin, and there are no side descendants at all." Qiu Yilan narrowed her eyes slightly, guessing what Qiu Mengmin would choose, "Qiu Mengmin can give up the title to one of his two sons and leave the house by himself. To support the Lu family with property that is not from the Xihe Palace... But, is he willing to do so? Even if he is willing to do so, is he at ease? "
The court was waiting for Qiu Mengmin's answer, but there was no reply for a long time, and everyone became a little impatient -
The people from the Queen's Party were about to urge her, but the Queen Mother's Party knew that Qiu Mengmin might not be able to answer right now, so one person came to the rescue: "Although Princess Xihe expelled the Lu family back then, the person who inherited the title at that time was Qiu Zhongyan. Now that there is no one in Qiu Zhongyan's lineage, if Qiu Mengmin doesn't return to the palace to inherit, won't the lineage of King Xihe be cut off? If he is not allowed to support his biological mother, then this is too much!"
This person is clearly a member of the Queen Mother's party. Before he finished speaking, he bowed to Danchi and said, "I implore the Queen Mother to abolish the order of Princess Xihe..."
"Absurd!" The former Dou Jijiu came out again, flicked his sleeves, and cursed without lifting the tooth wand, "It has been a rule since ancient times that the mistress has jurisdiction over the concubines! When Princess Xihe expelled the Lu family, then It’s the concubine’s right, but there’s a reason for that! Gu Ying, you actually asked the Empress Dowager to revoke the decision made by Concubine Xihe during her lifetime. It’s simply a disgrace to the legitimate concubine!”
The name Gu Ying sounded like he was from the Queen Mother clan. Qiu Yilan took a look at this person. He was wearing a light crimson official robe. He seemed to be an official of about the fifth rank. He was not handsome in appearance, but he was tall and tall. He was promoted from the third rank to the Imperial Palace. Even after being scolded, he remained calm and said in a deep voice: "The so-called reason is just a bowl of bird's nest porridge. For such a trivial matter, even a rude servant would rarely kick him out of the house!" for… "
"Gu Ying, you Dali are so kind-hearted!" Suddenly one of the fifth-grade military attachés stood up. He looked younger than his age. His sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes were very heroic, but his face was slightly pale, as if he had been addicted to it for many years. The look of drunkenness. This person is not of high rank, but he looks very relaxed when he comes out to play, and looks confident and fearless.
He said lazily, "I dare to ask Dali Zheng, is it natural for the mistress to have jurisdiction over the concubines?" As soon as this person spoke, Qiu Yilan couldn't help but feel awe-struck!
Gu Ying also frowned, and was about to answer, but the fifth-grade military attache was impatient to wait for him, so he went down and said, "Back then, Princess Xihe ordered Mrs. Lu to feed the porridge to the dogs. Mrs. Lu drank it herself and asked Princess Xihe, did you deceive the mistress?"
"In that case, why is it against the rules for Princess Xihe to expel the Lu family?" The fifth-grade military attache sneered, "Dali is in charge of the prison - do you usually rely on your aides to resolve cases? Such a clear matter is still Want to mess around?"
"Jiang Yadan!" Gu Ying turned pale with anger and shouted angrily, "The so-called legal principles are nothing more than human relationships -"
Jiang Yadan sneered and said: "So you can know clearly that Lu's unruly behavior was the fault of her being kicked out of the palace! Qiu Mengmin disobeyed her aunt and stayed behind, and she still denies the evidence in every possible way - but you are still so shameless You want to speak for him? I think you are interested in his two beautiful daughters who have not yet left the court, and you are telling lies here with your eyes open! "
"Shut up!" came a chorus of scoldings from the purple-robed officials. Qiu Yilan, who couldn't get a word in, lowered his head and raised a helpless smile at the corner of his mouth: "This Young Master Jiang, he is really inseparable from men and women. It's personal... I thought he had a problem with his brother Jiang Yashuang, and he said that on purpose that day! So it turns out that it is his fixed skill to attack the other person's bad style when they have a fight? "
That's right, as soon as this fifth-grade military attache opened his mouth, Qiu Yilan knew that he was the eighth young master Jiang who stopped Jiang Yashuang in Ganlin Palace that night!
"Yadan, stand down!" A senior official with a purple collar, thirteen jade belts, and a hanging gold fish said in a deep voice as he stepped out of the queue.
Qiu Yilan noticed that this person was ranked third among the civil servants before he was listed. Without even thinking about it, he must be one of the two secondary prime ministers in Da Rui!
Among the two secondary prime ministers, Tang Zimo was the father-in-law of the Crown Prince of Guangyang, and his only son Tang Dan was married to the Queen Mother's biological daughter, Princess Changping.
The other deputy prime minister, Jiang Tianao, was the eldest nephew of Jiang Qianchuan, the Duke of Qin, the "Qiancheng of the Country". Jiang Tianao has a very special status in the Jiang family. His grandparents died young, and his two uncles, Qin Guogong and Jibei Hou, were raised by his father, Jiang Qianshan, who sold himself into slavery.
Therefore, as Jiang Qianshan's eldest son, Jiang Tianao's career was supported by his two uncles, even the Duke of Qin and the Marquis of Jibei could not compare with their own sons.
These two secondary prime ministers happened to be one from the Queen Mother's party and the other from the Queen's party. The one who came out now without a surname named Hu Jiang Yadan could be imagined to be Jiang Tian'ao.
The leader of the courtiers of the Queen's Party came forward, and the leader of the Queen Mother's Party could not sit idly by. Before Jiang Tianao finished speaking, Tang Zimo, who was second in the civil service ranks, had already followed him out and said calmly: "The affairs before the emperor are discussed. How can we regard the court as a marketplace? Being rude over and over again?”
"This is also Gu Ying's fault. He went too far with strong words." Jiang Tian'ao was short and forceful when he dismissed his nephew. He turned to Tang Zimo, but he was also tepid and said calmly, "Yadan is young and can't stand being provoked. He fell into his trap." count."
Tang Zimo said: "No matter what, General Jiang Lang just disobeyed the emperor."
"Tang Xiang thinks too much. When discussing matters in the court, it is inevitable that the words will be fierce when there are disagreements." Jiang Tianao nonchalantly raised his hand to Danqi, "The Queen Mother, Your Majesty, and the Empress don't care about it, so why should Xiang Tang stare at you?" "Fang, trying to change the subject?"
Tang Zimo looked at the line of subordinates serving as censors: "Just because the superiors are not responsible for one thing, it does not mean that the subordinates are faultless!"
An imperial censor responded and impeached Jiang Yadan for making rude remarks and insulting the court.
Of course, the Queen's Party refused to give in, and also winked and called the Censor to come out to impeach Gu Ying. Seeing that the topic was about to change again, Xue Chang, who closed his eyes to rest, opened his eyes and said calmly: "Didn't I agree to discuss the aunt of the Xihe Palace?" , about the birth mother?”
This prime minister had extremely high prestige. As soon as he opened his mouth, the two censors who were arguing in a lively manner immediately stepped back obediently. Even Tang Zimo and Jiang Tianao looked solemn and said in unison: "Xue Xiang is absolutely right."
The Queen Mother Gu and the others above were also impatient - are you going to finish this nonsense
Empress Jiang slapped the armrest of the jade chair and shouted: "Qiu Mengmin! Tell yourself, what are you going to do now?!"
Qiu Mengmin's lips trembled for a moment, and she knelt down heavily: "I don't dare to disobey the order of my aunt, Princess Xihe, and I can't bear the loneliness of my biological mother, Lu. I beg the Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, and the Empress for permission to allow me to go." The throne, return to the market, use your own strength to support your biological mother!"
Seeing this scene, the Queen Mother's party all sighed: Being caught between the aunt and the biological mother, to be honest, it is not easy for a person.
But before the Queen Mother's party could defend him, Queen Jiang said solemnly: "You still have some conscience! It's just that even though you have brought your biological mother to the palace to support you over the years, you were deceived by the servants, and you still disrespect your aunt, after all. Do you admit this?"
Qiu Mengmin said bitterly: "I am guilty!"
"I'll fine you another hundred gold, and you won't be allowed to go out of the public account of the Xihe Palace!" Empress Jiang shouted fiercely with a powerful look in her eyes, "I will also reward you with twenty imperial staffs, and you will be executed in front of the palace gate to serve as a warning to others!"
She finished processing it in one breath, and then gave a fake smile to Queen Mother Gu, whose face was as sinking as water, "Mother, do you see?"
Queen Mother Gu said coldly: "That's it!" The Queen Mother's party would not be able to take advantage if they continued to entangle, and it would be in vain. Although the Queen Mother was not happy, she could only let it go.
After the court was over, Qiu Mengmin, who staggered down the jade steps, took a deep look at her niece, and there seemed to be unexpected resentment in her eyes.
Seeing this, Lian Chen turned his head and whispered to Qiu Yilan beside him: "Although he has resigned, your grandfather has no other heirs. The one who will succeed the throne must be your cousin... After all, the flesh and blood of father and son, you want careful!"
"Thank you uncle for reminding me!" Qiu Yilan said respectfully. When Lian Chen wasn't paying attention, she smiled sweetly back at her uncle. She narrowed her bright eyes and thought to herself: "I just want to get away with taking the blame from two servants. I dug it." Is it so easy to climb out of the pit?”